


The Wrong Hands

by MyChemicalFallOut



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Influenza/Rabies, Laboratories, Minor Character Death, Survival, Survival Horror, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-07 00:11:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1877733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyChemicalFallOut/pseuds/MyChemicalFallOut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scientists have been working on a mix of the Influenza virus and Rabies in order to create a cure for all ills. This vaccine, however, causes extreme side effects in humans and primates. What happens when it falls into the wrong hands?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Virus

Beep Beep Beep. 7 a.m. Yawn. Stretch. Breakfast. "Love you too". Traffic. Left at I34.

"Hey Zak did you get that memo? The virus has been stabilized. It's safe to be transmittable."  
"Really? That's great!"  
"Yeah so me and Colleen were gonna get lunch. You wanna come?"  
"Thanks for the offer, but I have a little research to do."  
"Well I'll see you tomorrow!"

No you won't. Today is my last day. All I need is to get the virus and leave without leaving my fingerprints. By this time in two weeks, 9/10 of the world will be contaminated zombie-like humans, constantly finding something to spread the virus to. The only ones alive will have to be fast and able to hide well or will need to know the cure. However, since I am the only that possesses the knowledge of how to turn the virus into the cure, the rest of you will be as good as dead. 

"Yeah you too!" Prick.

The process of stabilizing the hybrid virus was extremely difficult, being that Influenza and Rabies don't mix well. The tests on animals were all inconclusive, except for the primates. Each breed we tested had slightly varying results, but all came to the same conclusion. We infected chimps and they didn't react as fast as gorillas did. Gorillas, within second, were vocally complaining about aches and sneezing. The vomiting came shortly after, then the Rabies kicked in and they were banging on the walls, irises tinted red with high levels of blood. We sedated them and used them to see how they would react to different animals. 

We concluded that the virus had required them to spread it as efficiently as possible, meaning bites, scratches, any blood contact was enough. However, it was never truly enough to them. Once they had bitten, the virus was clearly in their system, but they kept going and ended up eating the other primate. Later tests found that the virus had essentially rewired their prefrontal cortex to stop distributing dopamine. They could never truly be satisfied with one bite or scratch. They never understood that their goal had been met. They would not stop until the other animal was dead. 

Humans were, however close, different. They experienced symptoms much slower. It was a few days before any signs showed up. First it was a fever and aches. Then vomiting and throat problems. Coughing and sneezing varied from person to person. The time that Rabies kicked in was roughly the same time for each person. Infect them on a Wednesday and you'll be hearing bashing against the wall on a Monday. Five days before they weren't humans, hours varying. 

We tried many different ways of infection. Seeing if several primates sharing the same air, one uninfected, the rest infected, would infect the one. Tests were inconclusive. Humans were different. They would get infected within a week or two of sharing the same unfiltered air. The tests on humans weren't as humane, oddly enough. We tried bites, painful, but effective. We tried shots, too long til few results. We tried putting it in the water, too diluted. We even tried having a human eat infected food, gave them a queasy stomach at best. The test that proved the most effective was putting a filter with the virus on it in the vent to the room. 

All I needed was to get it into Grand Central Station and I could sit back and relax, letting the world come to an end at my hands.


	2. In And Out

Beep beep beep. 7 a.m. Yawn. Stretch. Breakfast. "Love you too." Traffic. Right at I34.

The vials rattle lightly in the passenger seat, causing my attention to stray. The task will be easy. Go to Grand Central Station, 'clean' the bathrooms, break a vial in each air vent. Let people do the work. They go in and out within hours. People will use the facilities, breathe the air, and get infected. Then they will go to their destination and infect other people, simply by breathing out a few hundred times. 

I get to GCS and carry the brief case closely by my side. I don't bring any attention to myself as I change into working clothes and steal a cleaning cart. I hide the case under a few rolls of toilet paper and set the stand outside the door to the men's bathroom. People leave quickly and I lock the door. I put my mask on and do a light clean, to not look suspicious. A cleaning guy comes in and doesn't clean? That would look odd. 

I kneel on the counter, unscrewing the vent. I hop down and unlock the case. The clear liquid looks harmless, but carries the deadliest virus unknown to the general populous. I select one small vial and break it against the vent walls. The virus is now air born and I need to get out fast. My mask is only so strong. I close the case and hide it again. I make my way out of the bathroom and see a line. I can barely contain a smile, knowing that all of them will be the first carriers. 

I do the same in several bathrooms throughout the Station. No one questions me. After all, why would they? I'm just a janitor for all they know. I supposedly have a crap job with little pay, but it's all I could get, right? Why should doctors, or teachers, or engineers pay any attention to a scruffy guy who cleans bathrooms? That's why it's the perfect disguise. I'm invisible to them.

By the time I've got half the vials in vents, it's already closing time. People start locking things up and leaving. The janitors stay, but there's plenty of places for them to clean. As I'm walking along, I break vials and hide them under trash can lids, under benches, really any place that they wouldn't be easily seen. I get a few curious looks, but they don't really suspect me.

I'm down to the last few vials and head to go 'clean' the clock tower and ticket offices. I spray the clock down and clean it, placing a broken vial in a small area, where it will probably be seen by some little kid, but not many people have the time to look as close as kids do. In the ticket office I do a light clean and place the last of the vials under the desks, chairs and drip some into the cups. Couldn't hurt, could it? Well it won't hurt me. 

As I get outside, I take a spare set of clothes out of my bag and change, throwing my clothes and mask away as soon as I could. I set them on fire and leave. In my car, I take a syringe of anti-virus and inject my arm. I take a double dose just in case. I was exposed to an almost toxic amount of the virus, so the probability of me being infected was high. I had the anti-virus locked in a safe back home, so I was in good hands. My own of course. 

I got home around 4 a.m. I sneak into bed next to my girlfriend and kiss her forehead. She smiles and snuggles next to me. 

"Did you take the anti-virus?"  
"Yeah."  
"Good. I love you."  
"Love you too."

I should have stayed asleep. Stay asleep and not wake up the next morning. This is where I find the fatal mistake in my perfect plan. A faulty memory.


	3. Don't You Just Hate Interruptions?

Beep beep beep. 7 a.m. Yawn. Stretch. Breakfast. 

I watched the news on a small tv we had in the kitchen while my girlfriend made toast and bacon. She coughed a few times, but I didn't worry. She seemed to always have a cough or allergies. 

"Seems as if you're plan _sneeze_ worked." She smiled and looked at the thermostat. 68 F.  
"Yeah." The screen read 'culprit still unknown.' "Didn't get caught either."  
"That's _cough_ good." She checked the thermostat again. Still 68 F.  
"You feeling okay hon?" I ask, seeing her turn down the temperature. It was already freezing.  
"Yeah just a bit hot." Saying that sent her into a fit of alternating sneezes and coughs. She groaned and sat down.  
"Let me check your temp." I press my palm against her forehead and yank it back. She was over heating, but it was so cold in the room.  
"You took the anti-virus right?" I grab her shoulder and she winces. Fuck.  
"Yeah! Ow. _Cough_ At least I remember taking it, but you know how my memory is." 

I close my eyes and take a few breaths. Coughing, sneezing, fever, aches. The first signs of infection. I was losing my girlfriend. But why was she showing signs so early? Everyone showed 3-4 days after infection, not a few hours. My mind raced, trying to come up with a reason. 

She was prone to getting sick easily. That's why she always had a cough or was sneezing. Next, my thoughts went to a solution. If she took the anti-virus now, it wouldn't help. She was already too far gone. But she was the one person I needed. The one person that I would spend the rest of my care-free life with. She was why I did what I did and now I'm losing her. 

"Zak? What's wrong? _Sneeze groan_ Honey tell me what's wrong!" She fell into another coughing fit, which just made my heart break even more.  
"You didn't take the anti-virus and now you're infected. You have roughly 3 days before..." I trail off, unable to speak the words I never wanted to have to say.  
"Oh my god." She whispered, covering her mouth to keep from breathing on me. 

At some point I had fallen to my knees. I don't remember when because time had slowed almost to a stop. I walk calmly out of the room and grab two masks. I hand one to her and put mine on. Tears soaked the fabric and made it hard to breathe. I knelt back down and forced myself to look at her. The signs were visible now. She looked tired and sick. 

"I need to make a phone call." She slowly got up, every movement sending a new wave of pain. I felt numb. Nothing seemed like it was real. It was like I was in a movie and I kept thinking someone would yell Cut any time now. This wasn't supposed to happen to me. To us. 

BANG! 

"Kasey?! KASEY!" I scream, running into the other room, only to almost slip on a growing pool of blood. A note rests on the table. Blinking the tears in my eyes away, I have enough time to read the note. All it said was 'I'm so sorry. I love you so much.' 

My hand gun. She got the hand gun that she didn't like having in the house and killed herself. The knees of my jeans are thoroughly soaked in blood as I kneel at the head of my dead girlfriend. 

I pick up the gun and cock it. I lay down next to Kasey and point it up under my chin. I take a deep breathe and let it out slowly, squeezing the trigger. The second before the bullet is about to leave the chamber, a set of hands is yanking the gun out of my hand and pulling me off the floor.


	4. An Even Longer Year

"Dude what the fuck?!" A male voice yells, hauling me off the floor. A blunt object smacks my cheek and brings me back into reality.  
"Dude wake up. I know that your girlfriend killed herself, I don't know why, but I know that you don't have to. Why are you wearing a mask?" My neighbor asks, holding me up by my shoulders.  
"Why are you here?"  
"Heard a gunshot and came over. Just in time it seems."  
"She was sick."  
"Sick enough to kill herself?! Shit! What'd she have?"  
"Influenza/Rabies."

A confused and scared look flashes across his face and he backs up. 

"Like the one on the news?"  
I nod.  
"Like the one that has a 99% kill rate?"  
Another nod.  
"That's why you have the mask."  
Nod.  
"Am I infected now?"  
A pause, sigh, then nod.  
"No cure?"  
"Actually, one sec."

She had been breathing all night so that was about 2880 breaths with a .025% infection rate, so the air is about 24% infected. He could have a chance. I run into my bedroom, unlocking the safe and grabbing the case with the anti-dote. I bring it back out and inject him with the liquid. 

"Mask." Kris says, holding his hand over his mouth and nose. I toss him a mask and he quickly puts it on.  
"What now?" He asks, looking at my girlfriends dead body.  
"Get out of here. The world is going to turn to shit in about a week and we might as well pack our stuff and find a hole to hide in til we can fight."  
"Fight? What the hell are you talking about? People are just getting sick. That's all."  
"No it's not. The media corrupts. The virus makes you sick like influenza, then the rabies kicks in and you go nuts. Their main goal is to spread the virus and it fucked up their minds, so they bite and scratch and they won't stop because they're never going to be satisfied. So I suggest that we find somewhere safe where we have plenty of supplies and weapons." I monologue.  
"How the fuck do you know all this?" Kris asks, packing canned food into a bag.  
"I worked in the lab that was making it." I pack up my clothes and lots of masks.  
"Why would they make a virus that makes people crazy?"  
"A cure for anything. At least that's what I was told."

We head over to his house and grab his dog. He packs his clothes while I grab food and we find a place to stay. 

"My parents have this vacation house down in Florida."  
"No. No flying. No cabs. No trains. As little contact with the outside world as we can get. Everyone will be sick and I am not risking it."  
"Okay. What about boarding up one of our houses and making it secure."  
"That might work. We need boards so let's get some and figure out which house is safer."

We decide that my house would be better since it has a basement and an attic that has a good door. We board up the windows and leave one door open. 

"This is going to be one hell of a week."


	6. Things Have Gotten Worse

_It seems the Influenza virus has had another outbreak. We highly advise that you get a vaccine as soon as you can. The symptoms are sneezing, coughing, aches, fever, throat problems, and vomiting. If you see these symptoms in anyone you know, put a sterile mask on and have a doctor see them. They may be infected."_

"Doesn't seem like anything's getting any worse."  
"They will."

The next day, the reporters have masks on and half the staff is gone.

_We have had 3.5 billion reports of the Influenza virus. It spreads through the air. If you are not already infected, get a sterile mask on. Stay safe._

"Things haven't gotten any worse, just on a greater scale."  
"They will."

Two days later, the single reporter is hard to hear over the banging.

_If anyone is still alive, stay in your homes! If you see anyone, let them know that you aren't sick. If you see anyone that's coughing or sneezing, kill them. They are sick and will get worse. They will not hesitate to kill. Neither should you. Blunt objects to the head, making them bleed to death, suffocation. They are human, but they are not people. They have been reduced to primitive instincts. Stay safe._

I snort. Safe isn't a word I would use for the general populous. I'd be surprised if anyone that wasn't a total shut-in survives, other than me and my neighbor. The woman on the screen sneezes and groans. She slowly looks up at the camera and starts crying. She brings a gun to her head and much like what happened to me, she almost kills herself before she's interrupted. The doors break and hundreds of them flood in, finding anything alive to infect. They tear her apart, not bothering to kill her outright. She keeps screaming as she scratched and bitten, pieces of her flesh being torn off without care. Kris turns the tv off and we stay staring at the screen, him shocked and me too lazy to look away. 

"Dude." He says.  
"What?" I respond.   
"Why?" Kris asks.  
I shrug and look over at him. "I'd tell you to ask the people I worked with, but they are just like the rest of the world. Dead or killing." I answer simply.  
"Do you think my family is safe?" He asks, looking scared and confused.   
I shake my head and place my hand on his shoulder as a form of comforting.   
"Probably just us now."   
Kris gets up. "Sorry I need a minute." He stalks away and stays in the other room, doing I'm not sure what. Maybe making phone calls, trying to comprehend the situation, I don't know. 

He comes back with red eyes, looking even worse than before. I look at him with a questioning look and he shakes his head. No one answered, meaning his family was long gone. 

"We need sleep." I say, standing up, stretching my legs.  
"Really? Sleep? How the fuck are you planning on sleeping when the world outside that **fucking** door," he points to the front door, "is gone to hell. How are you going to sleep when at any point, those things could break in and tear us apart like the girl on the news?!" Kris yells.  
"Well if you keep yelling and letting them know that there are **live** people in here, they will. Now shut up and try to get some shut eye because we both look like hell. Okay?" I respond, keeping my voice down. Kris glares at me for a few seconds then huffs and looks down.  
"Who's sleeping upstairs?"  
"Both of us for now because neither of us are sleeping down here next to the door. In the morning, we'll find another place for one of us to sleep." I answer.  
"Fine."

I some how fall asleep and as expected, I have the worst nightmare I have ever had. My girlfriend hadn't killed herself. Instead, she turned.


	7. Not Allergies

I'm walking around in a dark department store, looking for a certain shirt. I had seen it in an ad for a type of bubble gum called Trine. There was a guy just chewing the gum, not doing anything, but he was wearing the shirt and I wanted it apparently. I finally saw the rack full of them and walked over to it. It was the same shirt, but they had every size except for mine. I started screaming because I really wanted the shirt. My noises attracted many zombie-like people, which I figured were infected with the virus I had created. I hid in the rack of shirts so they wouldn't see me, even though I was only about half-covered. I looked out over the sea of people, looking for one person in particular. My girlfriend. I needed to know that she wasn't in there. I never actually saw her, but I felt myself being dragged out from my 'hiding spot'. I turned and saw a 'zombified' version of my girlfriend. I pulled out a harpoon gun and aimed at her. I tried pulling the trigger, but my finger wouldn't work. She started scratching at my skin, making odd guttural noises. Oddly, I didn't bleed, even though she was ripping my flesh off with each motion. 

I shot up out of the bed, soaked in sweat and breathing hard. My heart was racing and I was light-headed. I glanced over at Kris, still snoring away. I sighed and stretched. Once my breathing and heart-rate were slower, I went down to the kitchen to make some food. I checked the clock. 5:40 a.m. I ran my hand through my hair, smoothing it down a little. I shuffled over to the cabinet to grab some cereal, Trix because it's _not_ just for kids. I grab a beer to calm my nerves and take a long drink. I sigh and pour it into the bowl with the fruit-flavored spheres. Each spoonful is bland and soggy, but it satisfies my hunger. I glance over at the blood stain on the carpet and sigh. I've been sighing a lot recently. I really should clean that up before it starts to smell. 

I stand up and step around the dried blood and the body, gagging. I grab some plastic and push it under her head so the blood doesn't continue to get on the carpet. I then bleach the entire area and scrub it painfully hard. Once Kris gets up, I think, we'll take her outside and burn her. We don't need _them_ to smell it and think there are people here. Then again, burning would mean that someone alive would be here. I finally decide on burying her somewhere far away. We'd have to sneak out to the car and hope that many aren't out there. 

I'd apparently gotten too far invested in the plan to bury my girlfriend, well _ex_ girlfriend, because Kris had been standing in the door frame for about two minutes before he cleared his throat. I looked up, not feeling the wet streaks on my cheeks. He grabbed the things out of my hands and pulled me into a hug. I hadn't realized that I was crying until I was gasping for breath in his shoulder. He had always smelled nice. Once I pulled myself together, he helped me clean and move the body. We ended up having lunch before we started digging. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but it still made me very tired. 

We went back inside, seeing that it was getting darker. A knock on the door sent shivers through each of us. We glanced at each other, silently asking _should we?_ I shrug and look through the peephole. A girl was looking around for any of the Infected, seeing one, she knocks harder. I see it as well and let her in. Kris walks over to see if she has any bites or scratches. None.

"Thank you. You have no idea how bad it is out there." She sighs and frowns. "Actually we do. As you can see." Kris motions to the boards on the windows. She makes a slightly confused face, not actually understanding, but hides it beneath understanding. Kris didn't see it. I have a gut feeling that this girl is nothing but trouble. She sneezes and I am at her throat. 

"Chill! I have allergies! I was just out of a house with a cat." She holds her hands up in protest. "Why'd you leave?" I growl, not believing a word she says. "Hey. Calm down." Kris nudges me off of her, but my eyes never leave her. "What's your name?" "Jenna." She smiles and I can clearly see through it. She's just planning on taking our supplies and leaving us for the Infected, but Kris, being that he's been single for way too long, doesn't. 

"Can we talk? Alone?" I ask through clenched teeth. Kris gives me a look before walking into the kitchen. "The fuck Zak? She's not trying anything." Kris lightly pushes my shoulder and I glare at him. "She's just going to use us for shelter and supplies. When we fall asleep, she's going to take our stuff and leave us for dead. Or worse, Infected." I answer, crossing my arms to make a point. Kris rolls his eyes and walks back, purposefully pushing me in his way.

They talk for a long time. Jenna keeps sneezing and manages to hide a few coughs from Kris. We end up playing a board game called Virus, yes I saw the irony and Kris didn't. I walk into the other room during Jenna's turn and grab a few masks. I toss two at them, demanding that they put them on. They comply and I quietly get two vials of anti-virus. I break one and pour it into Kris's drink and inject the other. I wasn't taking any chances. I hand Kris's drink to him and he takes it, drinking half in a few seconds. He makes an odd face. 

"Dude this is disgusting. What's in it?" Kris asks. "I added a little bit of flavored vodka. It grows on you." I lied. He shrugs and takes another drink. I sign and take my turn. Jenna ended up being infected, so I took my shot and killed her. I win. Jenna didn't like that. All I got for the rest of the night was glares and huffs. I didn't care. She was going to turn sometime soon and I would be right there to put an end to her. Kris somehow manages to convince me to sleep downstairs while they slept in my own bed. I'll ask him later. 

I waited until both were soundly asleep before I snuck in and hid in the closet. I was about to leave when Jenna shot up from the bed and ran out of the room. I heard, a few seconds later, violent puking. I step out of the closet and wake Kris up. He looks around and notices the sound. He sighs and waves me off to do my thing, then goes back to sleep, knowing full well that I'll take care of it. 

I step out into the hallway quietly, sliding across the wall where the moonlight didn't touch. Jenna exited the room and I waited until she was right in front of me to snap her neck. She makes a short scream, but dies instantly. I push her aside and walk back into my room. I fall onto the bed and fall asleep quickly, knowing we were safe again. I may have been safe while I was awake, but my dreams were a different story.


	8. Deja vu?

I'm in the same store as last night, but the lights were on this time. I was looking for the same shirt, but the color changed from green to blue. The commercial was the same, with the exception of the color of the shirt. The guy was just standing there, chewing the gum. They still didn't have my size which seriously pissed me off. However, since I knew I was dreaming, I didn't make any noise. I walked around the store a little more and hear footsteps approaching quickly. I turn and find myself face-to-face with one of the Infected. I jump back and push something in the way, bolting in the other direction. As I turn to run away, I find I'm surrounded. A hoard gathers around me, commanded by one Infected. My girlfriend. She stands in front of me, glaring. She takes a deep breath in and screams, her normal, human, scared voice. It brings tears to my eyes.

I bolt up out of bed, breathing rapidly. My heart is pounding and my head is killing me. A quick glance down tells me that Kris is still sleeping. I sigh and make my way downstairs. I make my usual breakfast of Trix and an odd drink. This time it was orange juice, first thing I saw. I eat quietly, hearing a door nearby slam open. They must be checking houses that are open. Ours isn't so we don't have a problem with that.


End file.
